Securing your ride

When it comes to motorcycle security there are three main options (and some variations): engage the steering lock, use a disk-lock, and chain your bike to something solid.

The steering lock option is available on most bikes and usually what you do is after stopping and parking your bike, turn the bars all the way to the left and turn the key in the ignition to the lock position then take it out. This way if somebody tries to steal your ride, they won't be able to turn the bars to wheel it away. The steering lock can easily be broken though and it doesn't prevent well-prepared thieves with a pickup truck.

The chain option is pretty straight-forward: get a heavy duty bolt-cutter proof chain, tie it through the wheel/spokes/disk/etc., wrap it around a big solid pole or something bolted to the ground, use a big tough padlock to complete the link and you're done. You can pick your own chain and padlock, or you can get motorcycle specific chains which are specifically designed to be very hard to cut and have very secure locking mechanisms such as a Kryptonite Keeper:

You don't necessarily need to tie the chain to something either, you can just wrap it though the wheel spokes and bars so the bike can't be pushed away (but can still be lifted onto a truck). The disadvantage with the chain option is that they're big and heavy and you wouldn't want to carry one with you.

The third option is a disk-lock. This is a small metal wedge like device with a slit that slips onto your wheel's disk and locks via a heavy steel bolt. The best way to describe it is to actually look at one:

This by itself serves the same purpose as a chain wrapped through the wheel but not tied to anything. That is, the bike can't be wheeled away as the wedge would hit fixed parts of the wheel frame and would prevent rotation. The advantage is that it's small, light, bolt-cutter proof and pretty cheap. The Xena lock pictured above however also has a motion-sensor 110dB alarm which triggers whenever the bike is moved or someone attempts to tamper with it.

I recently bought the XZZ6LYellow from a local bike shop for around $59 (AU). It's very small and light and I can store it in the rear seat compartment to take it with me. It takes about 2 seconds to put on (can just push in the lock cylinder with your finger) and about 5 seconds to take off (obviously using one of the supplied keys). The keys are said to be unique for each device sold (they have a 7 digit serial you need to keep handy in case you loose all three). The battery for the alarm is supposed to last 8 months to 1 year.

The alarm is very sensitive too, maybe a little too sensitive! any jolts to the front wheel with the lock on will trigger the alarm for about 10 to 12 seconds. Seems it could either be very effective, or very annoying. I'll post back later letting you know which is the case.

There are many variations to the products listed above and nobody can really tell you what's best for you. You need to do your research, think about how and where you're going to park your bike, and try to find the most convenient product for your circumstances.